BAGHDAD, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian paid a historic visit to Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Thursday, the first by an Iranian president to the area, to discuss strengthening ties and border security.
Pezeshkian met with Kurdish leaders including the president of the regional government, Nechirvan Barzani, in the region's capital Erbil on the second day of his Iraq trip.
At a joint news conference, Barzani called the visit a sign of deepening Iran-Kurdistan friendship, saying security issues were a key focus.
"Kurdistan region will not pose a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran in any way," Barzani said, stressing that "there are some problems, but we are determined to solve them."
Pezeshkian said his visit sought to reinforce relations with Iraq and Kurdistan while addressing mutual concerns.
The Iranian president later traveled to Sulaymaniyah to meet Bafel Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). A PUK statement said they discussed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based there.
In March 2023, Iraq and Iran signed an agreement to enhance border security, under which Baghdad is required to disarm Kurdish dissidents based in the Kurdistan region and relocate them from the shared border with Iran.
Pezeshkian began his first foreign trip since taking office in July with a visit to Baghdad on Wednesday, overseeing the signing of 14 memorandums of understanding with the Iraqi side. His itinerary also includes Shiite holy sites in Najaf and Karbala, as well as Basra province in southern Iraq. ■
